[meteorite-list] Italian Researchers Find Traces Of Life In Meteorites

From: Mauro Ianeselli <mauroianeselli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:46:22 2004
Message-ID: <3AFAF0FB.8931D480_at_poboxes.com>

Matteo Chinellato wrote:
>
> Or probably for Mauro Ianeselli is possible translate
> this article....Mauroooo is possible for you?
> Regards
>
> matteo

Hello Matteo, Robert and list,

This is second article appeared on "Corriere della Sera" of today.
The author is Giovanni Caprara, scientific journalist of the newspaper.

This is an amatorial translation done by my brother. The original
article (in Italian)
can be found at the following URL:
http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Scienze_e_Tecnologie/05_Maggio/10/clonatibatteri.shtml


NAPLES, EXTRATERRESTRIAL BACTERIA CLONED
----------------------------------------

Microorganisms cloned in a vial. The astrophysic Bignami: <<This
indicates there may be life on other planets>>


MILAN - The new extraterrestrial bacteria discovered within the

meteorites of the Mineralogical Museum of Naples have been cloned, and
are reproducing themselves in large quantity in the vials of the
Federico II University laboratories.

The exceptional result obtained by Bruno D'Argenio and Giuseppe Geraci
(anticipated yesterday by Corriere [1]), respectively teachers of
geology and molecular biology, has been presented yesterday in Rome at
the office of the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

<<The bacteria, after having been reproduced -- as explained by the
astrophysic Giovanni Bignami, the scientific director of ASI -- have
been analyzed for their DNA, and it resulted in a new brand without
equals among the 18,000 known types of genetic code>>

If confirmed, the discover is going to radically change the
explanations of the presence of life on the Earth and in the solar
system. <<At this point, it [the life] would have been formed, at
least in its initial shape, within the protoplanetary nebula from
which all planets formed -- Giovanni Bignami specifies -- so all these
organisms found in the meteorites analyzed in Naples may be found as
on planetary bodies and meteorites falling to the Earth as well>>

In fact, D'Argenio and Geraci localized the same types of bacteria
named <<cristallomicrobi>> or <<Cryms>> also on fifty specimens of
terrestrial rocks, some of them as old as 3.8 billions of years and
coming from different continents. The microorganisms, when put in
contact with a physiological solution by using a simple method easy to
reproduce, <<become visible and start moving>>, in other words they
reactivate themselves, as explained by the discoverers, who also
collaborated with the Geomare Institue of CNR. Once they [the
organisms] came back to life, it has been easy to clone them.

<<The probability of the specimens being contaminated by terrestrial
bacteria is very low -- the directory of ASI points out -- After all,
they have also be found in specimens sterylized in laboratory at
temperatures of 950 degrees. And they have always come back to life>>.

In fact, in meteorites as old as 4.5 billions of years, they stay in a
state of <<suspended animation>>, as the researches told. So the
archeobacteria have been <<resurrected>>.

Now, the results will be published on the Internet and will be
available to the international scientific community, which soon will
make hear its voice. <<In the meanwhile, ASI will support the research
-- the scientific director of ASI points out -- because the chase to
the origin of life is one of the greatest challenges of today's
science>>

--
[1] `Corriere' is the italian newspaper publishing the article, and one
among
     the most authoritative ones in Italy.
Best wishes, Mauro Ianeselli.

Received on Thu 10 May 2001 03:50:19 PM PDT